The Beginning of it All
by TheNash
Summary: A Sirius Black fic running from end of 7th year to OotP. Sirius has left Hogwarts and moved out on his own. He begins to realize that the coming war will bring change to them all, bring feelings of love, hate and tragedy. Story 1 of 3. Please R
1. An Ending and A Beginning

**A/N: I own nothing but the plot and any original characters I wish to add in at my own judgment...J.K.Rowling owns anything you recognize**

Sirius Black took a seat on the Hogwarts Express. The compartment was rather silent as all the inhabitants were gazing as Hogwarts vanished into the distance. It was the last time they would be riding the train, their seventh year had drawn too a close and they were on to bigger things, well Lily and James were at least. James was to start Auror training the beginning of September, and Lily would soon be starting a job in the office of the Minister of Magic. Remus was on the search for a job, and was concerned he would have a hard time finding one.

"People will be hesitant," he said, "About hiring a werewolf."

Peter chose to remain silent, every time the topic of careers was brought up and his face would seem to blanche slightly, though no one would ever take notice of it. Sirius claimed he was going to enjoy the freedom of no more school for a while and if he ever felt the urge to get a job, he'd land himself one at Zonko's.

"Oi! Padfoot! Are you all there?" James yelled as he tossed a chocolate frog at Sirius' head as Sirius gazed out the window.

Sirius barely managed to avoid the frog and shot a tickling spell at James. He sat back and watched as James collapsed to the compartment floor in fits of laughter. Lily looked at him for a few seconds before muttering the counter-curse and shooting a would be angry look at Sirius, but he could easily see the amused one in her eyes.

"Why would you ever suggest that I'm not dear Prongs?

James was about to respond when a disturbance at the compartment door sidetracked him. He looked over and a smile broke out over his face.

"Why dear Snivelly, what did we do to honour this little visit? Surely, oh don't tell me we forgot! Did we forget you're departing hex? How rude! Let me help you out there then, _Tarantallegra!_"

Before Snape could manage a response his legs began shooting out in various directions. Everyone in the compartment burst out laughing as they watched Snape struggle to stay upright. It continued for a few minutes until Lupin decided to put him out of his misery by placing the full body-bind curse on him. James and Sirius laughed as they kicked Snape's immobile legs out of the compartment and closed the door. They both sat back down and Sirius laid his head against the window once again. He could hear Remus talking to Peter beside him about possible places for a job. He looked across to where Lily and James were sitting hand in hand, talking about their plans for the summer. Sirius recalled James saying earlier he was planning on moving out, and once he found a house he was hoping to ask Lily to marry him. Sirius could tell by the look in both of their eyes that they would no doubt make a happy couple. All too soon the train ride was over and they all exited onto Platform 9 ¾. Before going through the barrier the five friends turned and took one last look at the scarlet Hogwarts Express. It was hard to believe they would never see it again, never ride on it to another year of fun, pranks, and Quidditch. Sirius heard Lily sigh and watched as James took her in his arms. With a final glace they all exited into the muggle world.

Sirius waved a quick good-bye to Remus, Peter and Lily as he set off with James and his parents. He was planning to gather up the few things he still had at James' place before apparating to the house he had bought over the Christmas holidays. He was disappointed to be leaving the Potters, they had been the closest thing he had to family since he met James in their first year. His own family was nothing but a load of power-hungry dark wizards whom Sirius wished to have nothing to do with. He knew only too well that his younger brother Regulus had already joined the ranks of Voldemort's Death Eaters, but knowing his brother he would soon be wishing he hadn't, the little coward. The only relatives he liked were his Uncle Alphard, who had left him a considerable amount of gold when he died the previous summer, and his cousin Andromeda, who had thrown away the Black tradition of marrying a pure-blood and instead married a muggle born by the name of Ted Tonks. After all his things were gathered into a moving box Sirius stood in the hall of the Potter's house to say good-bye. Mrs. Potter was trying to fight tears and told Sirius to come by as often as he liked. Mr. Potter wished him the best and James just said a simple good-bye, knowing full well he would most likely be seeing Sirius in a matter of days. With a final nod he apparated and vanished from the Potter household.

Sirius was standing in the middle of the hall of a rather small cottage he was now to call home. He dumped his box on the floor and walked throughout the house. It was rather small, only two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen/dining room, a bathroom, and a rather small storage room. The only bit of furniture in the house was a bed Sirius had bought at Christmas and he knew he would have to go out looking for some furniture the next day. But for the moment he just grabbed the box and walked up the stairs to drop his load in his bedroom. He settled the box in a corner and lay down on the bed. In less than a minute he was fast asleep.

Sirius woke late the next morning and stumbled out of bed. He went into the washroom to take a shower and realized he had no towels. There was no food in the house, and nothing save a few cupboards to keep any food in at that. He wasn't looking forward to going shopping, in fact he hated it, but it had to be done or else he'd be living in an empty house with no food. He trudged up the stair and changed before making his way down to the town, about a 20 minute walk away.

It wasn't a very big town, but he was able to get a bus to the next large one. He fumbled for a bit with the muggle coins but in the end got it all sorted out, Lily had taught them all the differences in muggle money. Sirius sat on the bus, getting some rather odd looks from the other people sitting around him. He couldn't place what it was, had he not dressed in muggle clothes that morning? He looked at his shirt and realized he had put it on inside out.

"Oh shit, just great," Sirius thought to himself as he removed his shirt, revealing a rather muscular, toned body and put it right side out again. He flashed a mischievous smirk at a few older women who were giving him disgusted looks and settles back down in to seat.

This action caught the eye of a teenage girl sitting across from him. She was 17, turning 18 that summer and had seen Sirius walking down the street just before she left for the bus that morning. He seemed to have moved in across the street from her, but she couldn't remember seeing him arrive the day before. She shrugged it off and saw Sirius giving her a funny look; she hadn't realized she had been staring. He flashed her a dazzling smile and she blushed and looked away. The bus stopped and Sirius went to exit. She looked around and realized it was her stop and exited as well. The bus drove away and Sirius turned around, spotting her.

"Oh great," she though, "Now he probably thinks I'm a freak AND a stalker."

Sirius had indeed noticed her stares on the bus, but instead of being embarrassed he smiled and returned the stare once she had looked away. She looked about his age, and frankly, she was beautiful. Her hair was a long, flowing brown and her eyes were an intriguing shade of hazel. He exited the bus and saw her leaving as well out of the corner of his eye. Once the bus had left he turned around and looked at her again. An embarrassed blush rose over her cheeks and she slowly began to walk over in Sirius' direction. Sirius' just smiled and walked over with a confident swagger. They stopped and eyed each other for a moment before Sirius' stuck out his hand.

"Sirius Black," he said with a smile, "and who, may I ask, do I have the pleasure of meeting?"

A smile came onto the girl's face and all embarrassment seemed to disappear. "Melanie Walker," she replied, "You moved in across the street from me, didn't you?"

"Why, I have absolutely no idea, but if you say I did, then I must have," Sirius said with an overplayed accent and a smirk.

Melanie laughed and looked at him. He was quite handsome. His dark brown hair was short, but slightly ruffled and he had deep brown eyes that seemed to keep going on. Before she could get caught staring again she hastily looked at the ground.

"Now, dear Melanie, do tell me what brings you here on this fine day?" Sirius asked with the accent again, which caused Melanie to laugh.

"Just some grocery shopping," she replied amid chuckles.

"Absolutely splendid!" Sirius exclaimed, "I may need a bit of help you see, not only do I need to do some grocery shopping as well, but I am enlist your help in furniture shopping."

With that Sirius grabbed Melanie's arm and asked her to lead him to the nearest furniture shop.

After all the shopping had been done and the bus ride home finished, Sirius dropped Melanie off with the promise to drop by soon, once his furniture arrived he'd need a little bit of help arranging. Melanie smiled and turned away calling back that she'd look forward to it. Sirius watched her walk to her door and thought there was really something captivating about her. He shook his head and walked into his house. Now to figure out how to use the telephone to order some pizza.


	2. Mistaken Judgements

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**A/N: This is a Sirius/Melanie chapter, just to get things rolling between those two.**

Sirius' furniture arrived a few days later, and as promised he called on Melanie to give him a hand. Straightaway Melanie took charge and didn't let Sirius get a word in edgewise about placement of the furniture; instead Sirius' only task was that of moving the furniture to the spot Melanie ordered.

"She's like a bloody drill sergeant," Sirius muttered under his breath as Melanie made him move the chair for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"There! Stop!" Melanie yelled.

Sirius dropped the chair and collapsed on to it. Melanie laughed and took a seat on the couch.

"Well you look tired," Melanie said to Sirius with a smirk, "Funny, I don't feel tired at all."

"Funny, I don't feel tired at all," Sirius mimicked, "Well it's not like you've done anything physically exerting, unless you count your vocal chords," He said jokingly.

Melanie stood up and pretended to be offended. "Well I never! I come over out of the goodness of my heart and this is the thanks I get. I have half a mind to leave!"

Before Sirius could say a word Melanie started to leave the room, trying to hold back the smile that threatened to overwhelm her face. Sirius was stunned, he hadn't thought she had been serious, but she was leaving. Without a second thought he jumped up and grabbed hold of her arm.

"Listen, I'm sorry. I was joking; I didn't mean to piss you off."

"Melanie still didn't look at him, but he could feel her shaking. All of a sudden she burst out laughing.

"OH MY GOD!" Melanie laughed, "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FELL FOR THAT!!"

Sirius stood there with a blank look on his face as Melanie almost collapsed in fits of laugher. Her laugher was contagious and before Sirius realized they were both on the ground laughing. It was a good few minutes before either of them could say anything. Once Melanie regained her composure she rolled over to face Sirius, who had been laughing so hard his eyes were watering.

"Oh man, it wasn't even that funny," Melanie said with a smirk.

Sirius looked as if he was going to start laughing again but thought the better of it.

He looked at Melanie who was still smiling, and she winked at him and sat up on the floor. Sirius did likewise, never once letting his eyes stray from her face. She looked at him and their eyes locked. Instead of Melanie instantly averting her eyes, she held his gaze. Sirius' face started moving closer to hers, but she didn't pull away. Just before their lips met the door bell sounded. Melanie stood up, muttered that she'd get it and left the room blushing. She opened the door and found three people standing there. One was a tall man with messy black hair, behind him was a woman with long copper-auburn hair and startling green eyes, and beside her was a man with light brown hair. She stood there in silence for a moment, they were giving her a puzzling look and she was at loss for what to say. It was finally the black haired man who spoke.

"Umm...is Sirius in?"

"Prongs! How nice of you to grace me with your presence!" Sirius said, emerging from the living room, "And you've brought Moony and Lily as well! Now what are you doing standing there? Come in!"

James, Remus and Lily all walked past Melanie, with Lily offering her a friendly smile. She hesitantly followed them into the kitchen and stood in the doorway. Sirius embraced the two men like brothers and the woman gave him a hug and a peck on the cheek. As Melanie stood there watching this all she felt slightly left out, but right away she felt ashamed of herself. Sirius' friends had obviously come to visit him, and it would be expected that he paid more attention to them than her; after all he could see her everyday.

"But what about what just happened in the living room?" she thought, and then she quickly pushed the thought away. Whatever just happened shouldn't interfere with Sirius' reaction to seeing his friends. She turned and made to leave the kitchen. Sirius saw her turn around and instantly reacted.

"Hey, where do you think you're going? You can't leave just like that, not without meeting everyone. Now get back in here and take a seat!"

Melanie turned around and sat down beside Sirius. He smiled at her before turning to the other three.

"Everyone, this is Melanie Walker, she lives across the street," Sirius said, with a strange infliction in his voice. Melanie saw an odd look of understanding pass across the woman's face before Sirius continued. "Melanie this is Remus Lupin, a.k.a. Moony," Sirius said, pointing to the brown haired man, "James Potter, a.k.a. Prongs," he said pointing at the black haired man, "and this is James' lovely girlfriend, Lily Evans," he ended, pointing at the woman.

They all smiled at her, and Melanie saw James look between her and Sirius then nudge Remus and Lily. James caught her looking and smiled and winked at her. She returned the smile and looked at Sirius, who was looking at her with a day dreamy look on his face. Melanie couldn't help but laugh, and her laugh brought Sirius back to his senses. He blushed slightly which caused everyone in the room to start laughing. The afternoon went off smoothly, though Melanie found the conversation rather strained at times. At moments James and Remus would open their mouths to say something then immediately change their mind. Also all of them seemed to avoid any mention of things like school and work. After sitting in the kitchen for nearly 3 hours Melanie said she had to leave and left the room with Sirius following her to the door.

"Thanks for hanging around, I'm sorry if you felt weird, not knowing any of them," Sirius said apologetically.

"Oh it's no problem, besides I had fun, everyone seems really nice," Melanie replied

"Do you want to come over for breakfast tomorrow? James is staying over and it'd be nice if you could come...besides I have no idea how to use a stove."

Melanie laughed and agreed, and told Sirius she'd be over at about 10 tomorrow morning. Just before she turned to leave she leaved forward and kissed his lips softly. They held the kiss for a moment before Melanie parted, smiled at Sirius and bade him good-night.

Sirius re-entered the kitchen and sat back down. Lily, James, and Remus were all looking at him and it was apparent that they all had something to say. An awkward silence passed through the kitchen for a few moments until James broke it.

"Sirius....she's a muggle."

Something flared up inside Sirius. "So? So was Lily before she came to Hogwarts. Why does it make a difference anyways?"

"But Sirius, a war's starting. If you fall in love with her how with her how will you explain..." Lily started.

"WHAT DOES IT MATTER?!?! SINCE WHEN WAS MY LOVE LIFE ANY OF YOUR BLOODY BUSINESS?!?!?!" Sirius spat.

"Padfoot, calm down. We're not trying to interfere with your love life..."

"It sure doesn't sound like that Moony."

"We're trying to look out for you," Remus continued. "You know as well as we do that Voldemort's going after anyone who's against him, muggle-borns, and muggles. Not only are you fighting against him, but Melanie's a muggle. It puts both of you in great danger. Voldemort could easily go after her if he gets wind that she's close to one of his opponents. How would it be explained to her if you're killed? Were you planning on telling her everything about our entire world?"

"If it came to that yes. She's not like 99% of the muggles in this world. She's open to change and things different from what she knows. You guys have to trust me on this, have I ever led you wrong?"

"Besides the time you nearly got us expelled for firing a hex at Snivellus that missed and hit McGonagall?" James joked.

"Oh you do forget Prongs, that you were the one who started hexing in the first place. Not to mention the fact that half the things I did you started," replied Sirius with a smirk.

They chatted for a bit, going over memories of their 7 years at Hogwarts. Before long it was late and Lily and Remus went home by way of floo powder. Sirius and James marched upstairs and James easily conjured a bed on the other side of Sirius' room. He flopped down on it and looked thoughtfully at Sirius.

"You're really crazy about her, aren't you?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Extremely, you couldn't stop staring at her."

Sirius sighed. "I tried not to, but I couldn't help it."

"Ah, don't feel bad mate, every time you weren't looking she was."

Sirius' face lit up. "Really?"

James just laughed. "Why are you so surprised? It's not like she hasn't shown she likes you. I mean she kissed you didn't she?"

"How did you know about that?"

"Well, even if we weren't spying, we would have been able to tell by the look on your face when you walked back in."

"Yeah, and then you tore a strip off of me."

"We're only trying to watch out for you. We don't want to see you have your heart broken if she can't handle the whole magic thing."

Sirius shrugged and lay on his bed. He thought over the night's events. He didn't think he over-reacted to James', Remus', and Lily's comments earlier. Who were they to say things like that about his love life?

"They're your friends," Sirius muttered to himself.

With that Sirius closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Sirius was awoken the next morning by a smiling face and the smell of bacon. He blinked sleep out of his eyes while Melanie smiled at him.

"Wake up sleepy head. I've been here almost an hour and breakfast is ready."

Sirius grunted something about it being too early and rolled onto his stomach. He realized this an unwise decision as two seconds later he was whacked in the back of the head with a pillow. He looked over and saw Melanie smiling innocently at him with the offending pillow clutched in her hands. As quick as possible his arm shot out and grabbed hold of Melanie's and he dragged her onto the bed. Melanie shrieked as Sirius wrestled with her and pretended to smother her with a pillow. James could hear the shrieks coming from the bedroom down in the kitchen and chuckled. At this rate neither Melanie nor Sirius would be down for a while so he may as well start eating. It was a good ten minutes before they emerged, both looking completely worn out. They took a seat and began eating.

James left later that day, choosing to leave like a muggle because Melanie was still over and then apparated once he got a few blocks away. He waved good-bye to Sirius and Melanie and promised to talk to Sirius soon. As he looked back at the pair standing in the door he couldn't help but think there was something special there, and that He, Remus and Lily were wrong to judge so quickly.


	3. Owls and Acceptance

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and anything you don't recognize **

**A/N: This is an important chapter, I enjoyed writing it. A lot of stuff is revealed in this chapter. Please R&R**

Over the following month Sirius' and Melanie's kiss turned into a full scale romance. Rarely were they seen without the other close by. James, Lily, and Remus had been over to visit a few more times that month, and all were regretting their outburst their first visit. Sirius was totally different when he was with Melanie, and she was obviously crazy about him. None of them had heard anything from Dumbledore about the war, so it was hopeful that Melanie wouldn't have to be told anything in the near future. No news was definitely good news. At the end of their seventh year Dumbledore had mentioned to them about joining an order against Voldemort called the Order of the Phoenix if the war began to escalate. Dumbledore had been very vague in details, only telling them he'd be in contact if they were needed.

Sirius had just returned from a day playing Quidditch and acting like prats with James and Remus. He looked across the street to Melanie's pitch black house, he had known she was going over to a friend's house for a much needed 'girl's night', but still he would've liked her company. Sirius sighed; he knew it'd be late before she got home, so there'd be no point in waiting to see if she wanted to come watch a movie. He trudged upstairs, lay down on his bed and flicked on the TV. It wasn't long before he dozed off.

Sirius woke up to a sharp tapping on his window the next morning. He rolled himself out of bed and onto the floor and crawled over to the window. Two owls were waiting there, one with a letter and one holding the Daily Prophet. He grabbed the letter and paper and set them on his bedside table as the owls flew off. He stole a quick glance at his clock. It was already 1:30.

"Wow, Mel must have been out late last night. She'd have broken down the door by this time," he thought to himself

He grabbed the paper and headed downstairs, leaving the letter abandoned on his desk.

Sirius sat at the table with the paper in front of him. His eyes grazed over the headline and his face blanched.

"Fresh Wave of Attacks Invokes Terror; 5 Muggles and 9 Wizards Killed"

Sirius knew what this meant. It was the first big attack, which must mean that Voldemort was growing stronger. Surely Dumbledore would be calling himself, James, Peter, Lily and Remus to join the Order any day now.

"I wonder if James knows yet..." Sirius thought to himself.

Without a second thought he headed to the fire place to travel to James' house by floo powder. He was about to throw the powder in when he heard the door open. Sirius hastily threw the powder behind the couch then went to greet Melanie.

"You look awful," Melanie said when Sirius walked into the hall.

"Hello to you too," he replied, kissing her on the forehead.

"Sirius, I'm serious. You're so pale, are you sick?"

"Really Mel, I'm fine. I just didn't get that much sleep, that's all."

"I doubt that. You probably woke up about 15 minutes ago."

A blush rose to Sirius' cheeks and Melanie immediately knew she was dead on.

"Really I'll be ok. Let's just go sit in the kitchen or something."

Melanie partially gave it, suggesting that they watch a movie in the living room instead. Sirius agreed then suddenly remembered the letter sitting on his bedside table.

"You start without me, I just have to get something from upstairs," Sirius said as he ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

The letter was in the same place as it was when Sirius left it there. The long, looping scrawl on the envelope was strangely familiar but he couldn't place it. He opened the letter quickly and saw Dumbledore's name scribbled across the bottom.

"_Sirius,_

_I'm sure you've heard about the events of last night. Voldemort_

_ has indeed launched the beginning of his attacks. It is time we _

_discussed the Order of the Phoenix. I must make it clear that being in _

_the Order will put you at great risk, 4 of the wizards killed last night were members of the Order. I have sent word to James Potter, Lily Evans, _

_Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Your support and help is greatly needed _

_if we are to defeat Voldemort. Remus will inform you when and where the _

_next meeting will take place._

_Sincerely,_

_P. Albus Dumbledore"_

"So it's begun," Sirius muttered under his breath. He started losing himself in thought when a deep voice called from downstairs.

"Sirius!"

Melanie watched Sirius disappear up the stairs and shook her head. She walked into the living room and automatically noticed the fire burning in the fire place even though it was the middle of summer. She shrugged it off and threw in a movie before settling down on the couch.

"What on earth is taking Sirius so long?" she thought to herself.

Melanie watched the movie in silence for a few minutes before she noticed something odd. The fire had suddenly began to glow and emerald green. She stood up and looked at it. She was caught totally off guard when she heard a voice shouting Sirius' name come from the fireplace and a split second later James Potter came walking out of the fireplace. She looked back and forth between James and the fire before falling to the floor in a dead faint.

"I don't want to modify her memory. Something like this could easily happen again. It'll come out in the end Prongs, we're in the middle of a war. We'll all be secretive and it'll get suspicious. Someone could let something slip, and then what will we do? We'll be in this exact position. We may as well tell her and get it over with now."

"What if she doesn't react well?"

"She will trust me. If she doesn't then we may be forced to place a Memory Charm on her."

Melanie was slowly gaining consciousness once again. She could hear Sirius and James talking but about what? Modifying memories? A war? What was she supposed to react to? She crawled off the couch and stood in the doorway of the kitchen, Sirius and James hadn't noticed her yet and continued talking, now about people named Dumbledore and Voldemort.

"No one knows how Voldemort can be defeated James, and anyways Dumbledore's probably the only one with enough skill to defeat him anyways, but I doubt he'd ever use an Unforgivable Curse."

"He may have to Sirius. When push comes to shove it may be the only possibility. How else are we supposed to get rid of him? We can't just let the entire wizarding race be murdered."

"Wizards?" Melanie said. Sirius and James looked at her with shocked looks on their faces and Melanie realized she had spoken out loud.

Sirius nodded to James and James stood up to leave.

"I'll get Lily and Remus," he said, leaving the room. A loud pop came from behind the closed door.

"Sirius what's going on? James came through the fireplace; you were talking about wizards..."

"Sit down Mel; we'll explain everything when James gets back with Lily and Remus."

"But they'll be ages, James just left."

"No sooner were theses words spoken when three pops came from the hallway and Lily, James, and Remus walked in.

"How did you..." Melanie began.

Lily put a finger to her lips and pointed at Remus, who was sitting across from Melanie. She immediately fell silent and looked around the table. Lily was to her right and Sirius to her left. James was standing behind Lily with one hand on her shoulder and Remus was directly across from Melanie.

"It seems we have some things to explain to you," Remus said

"No shit," Melanie replied

"Mel, don't be mad at us from keeping this from you, we just didn't know how you'd react," Lily told her.

"Well what is it then?"

No one seemed to want to speak. Lily, James, Remus and Sirius all seemed to be lost for words. Finally it was James who broke the silence.

"We're wizards."

Melanie sat there in silence for a few minutes. She knew something strange was going on after seeing James come out of the fireplace and hearing him and Sirius talk, but nothing prepared her for this.

"W-wizards?"

She looked at all of them, finally letting her eyes rest on Sirius. He saw the look in her eyes and she seemed to begging him to say it was all a lie. He would have given anything at that moment to scream "April fools!" to tell her it was all a lie. Slowly and sadly he nodded his head.

Melanie sat back in the chair, looking very pale. She didn't say anything for a few minutes. Words seemed to have escaped her. She didn't know how to react, she couldn't react, all she could feel was numbness. Finally she choked out five words.

"I want to know everything."

The day that followed was a long one. Melanie did not speak during Sirius, Remus, James and Lily's story except when she did not what something meant. They went over everything, Hogwarts, Quidditch, and finally, Voldemort. Melanie sat back in the chair and allowed everything James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily had just told her about the war against Voldemort and the Order of the Phoenix to mull through her brain. She looked at Sirius, who was gazing in to space with a concerned look on his face. Finally Melanie knew what she wanted to do.

"I want to help."

"What?" Sirius asked, snapping back to reality.

"I want to help you guys, the Order, in any way I can."

"I won't let you; you're in enough danger as it us knowing all of us about all this. I'm not going to put you at an even greater risk."

Lily caught the determined look on Melanie's face.

"Sirius I don't think we can stop her."

"I know there's only so much I can do, but I want to help anyways. What if Lily and either Remus or James moved in with me? I know with everything that's going on it'd be easier if you were all close by. Also, that way no one would be giving me heart attacks by walking through fireplaces."

The subject was closed for the time being as Lily, James, and Remus had to leave. They said good-bye and with a "pop!" they all vanished from the table. Melanie's eyes widened in shock but she shook it off and dragged Sirius out for a walk.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked as they walked hand in hand down the deserted street.

"Positive," Melanie replied.

"What about your sister, won't she mind random people moving in?"

"She's going back to college next week so I'll be left alone in the house. Mom and Dad are always off on business so I never se them anyways. Even when they're home they stay in the city, they don't like it up here."

They walked a little further in silence, neither one of them wanting to break the effect of the clear, quiet night. In fact it wasn't until Sirius was standing with Melanie at her door saying good night to her before either of them spoke.

"Thank you for understanding," Sirius said, bending down and kissing her lightly.

She looked up into his dark brown eyes.

"I'd still love you, wizard or not."

She gave his hand a quick squeeze and walked into the house.


	4. Headquarters

**Disclaimer: I wish**

**Snickers1514 – Thanks! It's really nice to know that someone's reading my story and that they're enjoying it. Thanks for the tip as well. I'll have to be more careful when I proofread from now on.**

**Now on with the chapter!**

"Lily, your room's upstairs, second door to the left. Remus, there's been a slight change in plans. Sirius converted a room on the main floor into a bedroom for you. It's easier because he has extra space and his basement is empty so you can use it for, umm...special purposes."

Remus nodded. Melanie had been told about him being a werewolf. He picked up his bag which was lying on the floor. He and Lily had apparated over to Melanie's house to move in.

"That makes sense. That way James won't be pissed at either me or you anymore now," Remus said as Melanie chuckled, "Oh man, he was ever pissed off when you said he couldn't move in."

"Well I wasn't about to be living in the same house with him and Lily. You know as well as I do that they'd spend the whole day snogging each other senseless. It'd drive me mad!

Remus laughed, "Well I'll head over there and unpack. We don't have long before the other three and I have to be at Hogwarts for a meeting of the Order."

Melanie nodded and asked Remus to tell Sirius that she and Lily would be over as soon as Lily was finished unpacking. Remus happily agreed before apparating across the street.

"It still freaks me out when they do that, but it's better than the fireplace thing,"

It didn't take long for Lily to unpack and soon they were headed across the street. The boys were still unpacking when they walked in.

"What's taking you so long?" Lily asked giving James a hug.

"You know we can't help hexing the daylights out of each other," James replied

"Do you guys need anything to eat before you leave?" Melanie asked.

"No, Dumbledore will have something at Hogwarts. If not we can always sneak down to the kitchen after the meeting," Sirius said, walking into the hall. "Is Remus ready? We've got to go if we don't want to be late."

"I'm coming, don't worry Padfoot," Remus called

"Ok, let's head out then. We should be back by 10:00 at the latest," he said to Melanie, giving her a kiss on the forehead and looking into her eyes. "I know you want to come, and I wish I could take you, but there's no way to get you there. Besides it'll be difficult enough telling everyone how much you know,"

"Why will it be so hard?"

"Because Mel, most muggles aren't too accepting of wizards," Lily replied. "Sirius we really have to get going, we were supposed to meet Peter in Hogsmeade five minutes ago!"

With that Lily vanished with a pop, followed closely by James and Remus. Sirius gave Melanie another quick kiss before vanishing as well.

They arrived on the borders of Hogsmeade split seconds later. A short, stubby boy was staring at them with water eyes and a mouse-like face.

"Hey Wormtail, I'm surprised you waited for us," Remus said.

"More like he's surprised he didn't run off crying when we weren't here on time, thinking we'd ditched him," Sirius whispered in James' ear.

The group of five marched up into the school and wound their way through the halls and into the Room of Requirement. They opened the door to see another 30 or so people sitting there staring at them.

"Well then, now that everyone's arrived I suggest we get the meeting underway. Sirius why don't you start off by telling about our newest recruit to the Order," Dumbledore said.

"A new recruit?" asked Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody from a corner.

"Yes, young Sirius and his friends James, Lily, and Remus have acquired – shall I say – an honoury member to the Order. I believe her name is Melanie Walker.

A murmur of interest arose from around the table.

"Where is she Sirius?"

"Why isn't she here?"

"Her last name is Walker you say? I don't recall any witches with that last name in Britain."

Sirius was in shock, how had Dumbledore known about Melanie? It took him a few seconds to react.

"That's because, well...umm...she's a muggle," Sirius said

"A muggle? We have a muggle as a member of the Order?"

"Albus, is this allowed? We will have to modify her memory?"

Everyone in the room was now looking at Dumbledore with varying degrees of concern and worry etched across their faces.

"I think it is best if we let Sirius tell his story," Dumbledore said.

Sirius related the whole experience to a captivated audience. He told them everything, Melanie seeing James come out of the fireplace, her over-hearing their conversation and James, Lily, Remus and himself telling Melanie the truth.

"But Sirius, couldn't you have modified her memory?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"It was a possibility, but a pointless one. The risk was too high that something like that may happen again. It would be too easy to let something slip. It was easier to come clean."

"Who is she exactly, in relation to you I mean," asked a short witch sitting across the table.

"She's, umm...my girlfriend."

An outburst of clapping came from the end of the table.

"Good job Sirius! You're dating a muggle! Your mum would be taking the piss right now if she found out!"

Sirius looked down the table and saw his cousin Andromeda laughing and giving him the thumbs up sign.

"Sirius how can we be sure she's trustworthy? She could easily be a spy for Voldemort posing as a muggle in order to get close to you and find out information about the Order's plans," stated Professor McGonagall.

"If you could see the look on her face anytime one of us apparated of disapparated around her you'd know," James chuckled.

Professor McGonagall gave James a stern look and turned to Sirius.

"She won't tell because I know she won't. I trust her and that's all there is to it Professor."

"Well now that that's settled shall we move on?" Dumbledore asked before anyone else could speak. Actually it was more of a demand than a question. When Dumbledore looked around and saw no hesitation he continued. "Excellent! Now we must face an important issue. For the moment Hogwarts can be used as a place for meetings, but we must find a more permanent headquarters. Does anyone have any suggestions?"

The room stayed quiet. Most of the members thought Hogwarts was the safest place for headquarters. The rest agreed with Dumbledore. In reality it was too dangerous for the students.

"What about Sirius' house?" James suggested. "I know it's not my house to offer, but when you think about it, it's ideal. It's not in the centre of a city or anything and three of us are already living in the house with Lily living just across the street."

"I think it's a great idea Prongs," Sirius replied. "James is absolutely right, it's practically ideal. We'd just have to put some charms over it to make it Unplottable and such, and obviously we'd need a Secret-Keeper."

"Well that's easy, it'd be Albus obviously," said Mad-Eye Moody.

"I'm going to have to refuse Alastor. I believe the best person for the job would be Sirius' charming lady friend Melanie."

"Albus! Surely you can't be serious?" Professor McGonagall gasped.

"I assure you Minerva I am deadly serious. If she is as trustworthy as Sirius says she is I truly believe she would make an excellent Secret-Keeper. It is possible to make a muggle a Secret-Keeper isn't it Wulfrid?"

"Oh yes, it is the exact same as making a wizard or witch a Secret-Keeper," Professor Flitwick replied.

"Excellent! I shall be over tomorrow then Sirius to go over all the necessary procedures. I suggest you tell Melanie about this meeting," Dumbledore said as Sirius nodded in reply. "Well if there is nothing more to be discussed I declare this meeting adjourned."

Everyone rose to their feet and began to file out of the room. Sirius, James, Remus and Lily all headed towards Hogsmeade. They had looked for Peter but he seemed to have vanished halfway through the meeting. As soon as they were off the Hogwarts grounds they apparated back to Sirius' house. The TV was still on in the living room when they arrived. The looked in to find Melanie curled up on the couch, obviously asleep.

"There's no point in waking her up and you both walking home. It's late, you may as well stay here tonight," Sirius said to Lily. "You can bunk with James. I'll carry Mel upstairs to my room and I'll sleep down here."

"Why don't you both just sleep upstairs? I'm sure Mel wouldn't...oww Lily! That hurt!" James started before being abruptly cut off by Lily elbowing him in the ribs.

Sirius gently picked her up off the couch and started walking up the stairs, being careful not wake the still slumbering Melanie. He laid her down softly on his bed and pulled a blanket over her. He took one last look at her sleeping form before heading downstairs to make up a bed from himself on the couch.


	5. The Secret Keeper

**Disclaimer: Do I look like J.K. Rowling to you?**

When Melanie awoke the next morning she wasn't quite sure where she was. The last place she could remember being was the living room couch. She finally opened her eyes and rolled over. Immediately she realized she was in Sirius' room. Throwing off the blankets she opened the door and tip-toes down the stairs, as to not wake anyone. She looked into the living room and saw Sirius asleep on the couch, snoring softly. She looked at him for a moment before walking into the kitchen to pour herself a bowl of cereal.

"He must have carried me up there last night and then slept on the couch. He should have just left me where I was and slept in his own room," Melanie thought to herself.

She sat at the table reading yesterday's newspaper for a while before to deciding to make the others some breakfast for when they woke up. Melanie pulled out some pans and took a quick glance at the clock. It was just past 9:30.

"What am I doing? They probably won't start waking up for at least another hour."

"She tip-toed into the living room, grabbed the book she had been reading the night before off the table and walked up the stairs to lay down in bed and read.

Sirius was rather groggy when he woke up; his sleep had been a rather unpleasant one. He half walked, half stumbled into the kitchen only to find it empty. He then marched up the stairs, poked his head in his bedroom door and looked to the bed, where Melanie was sitting up, reading.

"Good morning, Sunshine," Melanie joked when she spotted Sirius at the door. "My, don't we look lovely this morning,"

"Oh, stuff it will you?" Sirius replied with a chuckle.

Melanie patted the space of empty bed beside her, indicating Sirius to sit down. Sirius took a seat and allowed Melanie to snuggle up next to him and lat her head in the crook of his neck.

"How'd the meeting go last night?"

"Better than I thought. Somehow Dumbledore already knew about you. Honestly, the number of tricks that man pulls out of his sleeve is endless."

"You weren't kicked out of the Order or anything for telling me about it?"

"No, some people – ok most people – thought Dumbledore was mad for agreeing to it."

"Anything else you talked about?"

"Yeah, they needed a headquarters for the order, and this place is sort of it. That's not as important as what Dumbledore said next though. I'm surprised he wasn't chucked out of the Order for suggesting it..."

"What'd he say?"

"He wants you to be the Secret-Keeper for the location of the Headquarters."

"Secret-Keeper?"

"Basically it's a person who keeps an important secret..."

"Go figure."

"...and they are the only people who can disclose that secret. In this case you will be the only person who can inform people where the Headquarters is located, whether you tell them verbally, or in writing. No one but you can tell the location of the Headquarters."

"Why pick me?"

"Dumbledore figured you'd be the best person for the job. A lot of people didn't like that decision; they figured he'd be the best person to be the Secret-Keeper."

"So basically the pressure's on, right?"

"Yep."

"I still don't know why Dumbledore would pick me. I mean I've never met him, he's never met me. How does he know he can trust me; that I won't go telling the wrong people? Plus I'm not magic."

"Honestly Mel, I couldn't tell you. I can tell you that he's right. You'll automatically know who you can tell and who you can't, trust me."

Melanie nodded and sat on the bed for a few minutes with Sirius before rising to take a shower. Sirius walked downstairs into the kitchen to find something to eat. He sat down at the table with a muffin clutched in hand. Lily was already sitting at the table reading the paper.

"Morning Lily, where's Prongs?" Sirius asked.

"Still sleeping," Lily replied.

"Oh, I see, tired him out last night did you?" Sirius joked as Lily shot him a death glare.

"I'm guessing you told Mel about the Secret-Keeper thing."

"Yeah, about 5 minutes ago. She reacted quite well."

"I'm surprised, with everything we've told her lately another responsibility and secret must be driving her mad."

"She'll be fine, she knows how much she can take," Sirius said, and then he laughed. "You just really sounded like James' mum there. I recon you've been spending too much time over there lately. You're becoming a second Mrs. Potter."

Lily remained silent for a few moments. With Sirius' words a blush had rose to her cheeks and a glazed look had come across her face.

"You liked the sound of that didn't you Lily? Mrs. James Potter, Lily Potter," Sirius said with a chuckle. He was really teasing her now.

Lily blushed, "I never said such a thing. Quit putting words into my mouth Sirius Black!"

"Ah, but Lily darling, you were thinking it."

Lily didn't respond, but immediately changed the subject.

"So did you tell Mel that Dumbledore's coming tonight?"

"Not yet. I'll let the whole Secret-Keeper thing soak in for a couple hours first," Sirius replied

"Good idea. I swear we'll end up giving her a heart attack next."

"Yeah, and goodness knows I don't want that to happen," Melanie asked, walking into the room. "So what's going to give me a heart attack this time? Is someone planning on walking through a wall or dropping through the ceiling?"

Lily laughed, "No, not this morning anyways."

"Nope, unless Prongs or Moony has managed to turn into a ghost overnight, no one's going to be walking through walls or ceilings."

"So what am I getting this heart attack from?"

"Information overload."

"You underestimate my metal capabilities, Sirius Black."

"Obviously."

"So what more information am I going to get that'll overload my brain and give me a heart attack?"

"Dumbledore's coming tonight."

Melanie's face blanched. "Tonight? I mean, I don't even have 24 hours or something like that?"

"I'm sorry Mel. If it had been our decision we would have waited a bit," Lily said comfortingly.

Melanie didn't reply. Instead she left the kitchen and sat down on the couch in the living room. Sirius shot a concerned look at lily and got up and headed to the living room. When Sirius entered the living room Melanie was sitting on the couch with her head in her hands. Sirius sat beside her and places a comforting arm around her. Melanie turning into Sirius' shoulder and wrapping her arms around his neck, she started to silently cry.

"I'm sorry Mel, I should have never agreed to this. I can tell Dumbledore that you're not up for it, to just forget the whole thing. He can find a new Secret-Keeper."

"It's alright Sirius I can do it. I can't let those people who hated the idea of me being Secret-Keeper win, just because I'm not magic."

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked, his eyes and voice full of concern. "I don't want you to be driving mad or anything like that."

"I'm sure, and I'm lucky."

"Lucky for what?"

"To have someone who cares for me as much as you do."

She placed a light kiss on Sirius' lips before laying her head on his chest and closing her eyes. Sirius held her close, not wanting to let go.

Lily stood silently in the doorway and watched them. She felt a hand slide around her waist and she looked up to see James standing there.

"We're both lucky," Lily said to him.

"Who?"

"Mel and I."

"How so?"

"We're both with the men we love."

With that she gently kissed him and they walked into the kitchen.

The day passed by quickly, and soon it was eight o'clock. Melanie, lily, Sirius, James and Remus were all sitting in the kitchen waiting for Dumbledore to arrive. As the minutes ticked by Melanie started getting increasingly nervous. How was this all supposed to work? A loud pop came from the living room and Melanie knew her questions would soon be answered.

"Good evening everyone, and especially to you Miss Walker," Dumbledore said.

He seemed very kind and Melanie took and immediate liking towards him.

"H-hello Professor..."

"Please, call me Albus, for you are not a student of mine, nor have you ever been."

"Oh yeah, so she gets all the privileges now, does she? James joked. Lily punched him in the arm and he immediately fell silent, though there was still a smile playing on the corners of his mouth.

"Ah, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Would you like me to send you to Durmstrang for a year of schooling just so you may have the luxury of calling me by my first name?"

"No sir," James replied while trying to keep a straight face.

"Well then, now that that's settled I suggest we move on. Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin and Miss Evans may you kindly leave the room?"

All four rose to leave when Melanie broke in.

"Please Prof – er...Albus, with all due respect I'd like them to stay here."

"Unfortunately Melanie. Because of the nature of the spell it is impossible for anyone other than you and I to be in the room."

Melanie nodded in understanding and let everyone else leave the kitchen. Dumbledore was looking very seriously at her from across the table.

"Melanie, I must ask you if you are absolutely positive about this decision."

Yes, I am."

"Very well, I can see in your eyes that you are telling the truth. The spell which I will be casting on you is called the Fidelius charm. It involves using magic to conceal a secret inside of you, in this case the secret being the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. This location will be impossible to find unless you choose to divulge its location. You will not need to tell myself or your four friends the location since they will be within the house when the spell is cast. Are you ready?"

Melanie nodded.

"Yes."

"Sirius, sit down! At this rate you're going to walk right through the floor," Lily said.

"Yes _mother_," Sirius replied sarcastically

James laughed, "Come on, sit down Padfoot, I don't know what you're so worried about, Mel will be fine. It's only a charm, besides Dumbledore's with her."

Sirius sighed, "I know I just feel so bad for putting her through all this."

"She wouldn't have done it if she didn't love you Sirius. Sort of like how you, prongs, and Wormtail wouldn't have run around with me every full moon if you weren't my friends," Remus said.

Just then the kitchen door opened and Melanie walked out, followed closely by Dumbledore. Sirius walked over to Melanie – who was looking a bit paler than she had earlier – and pulled her into a hug. Melanie continued holding on to him for a few moments before they parted slightly. Dumbledore gently placed a hand on Melanie's shoulder before apparating out of the house. Sirius looked at Melanie and kissed her on the forehead. He was still a bit worried about her, but he knew she could handle it.


	6. Dark Mark Rising

Chapter 6 – Dark Mark Rising

The summer faded away and September was in full swing. James had started his Auror training, Lily was working as an assistant in the Minister of Magic's office, and Melanie was working in town. Most days it would be just Sirius and Remus in the house – amusing themselves by playing wizard's chess and Exploding Snap – until about 6:30 when everyone started arriving home.

Melanie walked into her house one day to find a note from Sirius on the table.

_"Mel,_

_There's a major meeting of the Order tonight. We need you outside at __6:50__ to start telling people the location of Headquarters. Either Lily, James, Remus or I will be there with you. Make sure you're outside by __6:50__ at the latest. The meeting's at __7:00__ and those who don't already know the location will be arriving by then. See you later._

_Love,_

_Sirius"_

Melanie glanced at the clock; it was already 6:35. Instead of hanging around her house she headed across the street to Sirius's. While crossing the street she noticed a few people walking up and down the road, as if they were looking for something. Before she could even enter the house Lily came flying out at her.

"Mel! Come in here, quick!"

Melanie obediently followed Lily inside the house and into the living room where a stack of 20 or so papers where piled on the coffee table.

"What we need you to do is write 'the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is located at…' and the address. Once you're done I'll put a charm on the papers to make them vanish five seconds after being read. That way no one can overhear you that isn't supposed to."

Melanie nodded and quickly began writing on the papers. Within five minutes she was done. Lily picked up the stack.

"_Disparuso_. Okay, now that's done. You stay here, I'll go hand these out."

With that, she rushed out of the house, leaving Melanie in the living room alone. She rose and went into the kitchen where Remus, Sirius and James were conjuring extra chairs to accommodate everyone.

"Hey," Sirius said, kissing her on the cheek. "Are you planning on sticking around for the meeting?"

"No, I was just going to head home and do some tidying up, why?"

"It'd probably be best if you just hung around for a few minutes. I don't know if Dumbledore wants to introduce you or anything."

"If you do stay, can you do us a favour and sit on the counter. I don't think we'll be able to fit anymore chairs in here without breaking a window," James joked.

Melanie nodded and stood in between Sirius and James while Remus let people in. When almost all the seats were full Lily entered, closely followed by Dumbledore.

"Good evening, my good friends," Dumbledore said. "As our first order of business I would like to introduce our Secret-Keeper, Melanie Walker"

Every pair of eyes turned to look at Melanie, who was still standing with Sirius, James and Lily.

"Is there anything you would like to say Melanie?" Dumbledore asked.

Melanie said nothing, but shook her head and turned to leave the room. While her back was turned a hand shot up in the air and Dumbledore acknowledged it.

"Yes, Arabella?"

"I was just curious, Albus, as to where Ms. Walker was headed," Arabella Figg said, with a hint of distrust in her voice.

Melanie turned around and simply responded, "Home."

"But why?"

"The less I know, the easier it is to keep it a secret," Melanie responded. With a final wave to the room she turned and left, and walked across the street to her house.

The meeting was a long and tedious one, mainly dealing with past attacks and possible sites for future ones. Everyone stayed put through the whole three and a half hour meeting, except Peter, who rose partway through the meeting and walked right past Remus and James.

"Where's you off to Worm?" James asked.

Peter seemed startled and started searching for an answer.

"Oh – er…well, the washroom! That's it; I'm just headed off to the washroom!"

Remus gave Peter a strange look, and then looked over to James who was looking just as puzzled. James caught Remus's gaze and shrugged. Peter returned a few minutes later with an expression of fear, guilt and pride all mixed into one. He quickly took his seat and stayed there for the remainder of the meeting. The meeting ended at 10:30 and everyone rose to leave. Sirius approached Dumbledore and started talking to him about his thoughts on where Voldemort was most likely to attack next.

"I definitely agree with Mundungus. The attacks have been getting closer to London each time there's a new one. the next attack is either going to be directly in London, or just on it's outskirts," Sirius said.

Before Dumbledore could reply, Arthur Weasley came bursting through the door.

"Albus, Sirius, come quick! Something's happened across the street, you ought to see it!"

Sirius's blood ran cold. Had something happened to Melanie? He rushed outside after Dumbledore. He walked onto the road and saw Lily crying on James's shoulder as James and Remus stared stone-faced at the sky. Sirius gazed up and his face went a ghostly white. Floating above Melanie's house was the Dark Mark.

Melanie gazed at her clock on her bedside table. It was only 9:30, but she was dead tired. She threw on her pajamas, and crawled into bed. She lay there just a few minutes before she heard a door open downstairs

"That couldn't be Lily already, could it? She told me the meeting would last at least three hours…" Melanie whispered to herself.

Just to be cautious she tip-toed over to the door, leaving the light off. She opened the door a crack and listened.

"Avery, Nott, check downstairs. Goyle search the main floor with Crabbe. Bella you come with me to check upstairs. Remember, do not kill the girl when you finder, simply stun her. The Dark Lord wants her for questioning," came a cold, commanding voice from downstairs.

Melanie froze. These people were after her. She had to get out and fast. She crawled over to the window and went to pull it open. It didn't move.

"Of all times it could possibly stick, it bloody well chooses now!" Melanie thought while panicking

She could hear footsteps ascending the staircase, and she gave the window one last pull and it opened. She hoisted herself through the window and latched onto the drainpipe beside the window. With one hand she shut the window behind her and started shimmying down the drainpipe. She was not a moment too late, for when her hand vanished from sight, two of Voldemort's Death Eaters – Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucious Malfoy – burst into the room. Melanie's feet touched the ground and she ran as fast as possible away from the house. Inside the Death Eaters were screaming with rage when they found the house totally empty. Furniture and belongings were strewn all over the house and the Dark Mark was shot into the air as they disapparated.

Sirius's feet mechanically started moving towards Melanie's house. No one tried to stop him as her opened the door and ventured inside. The house was barely recognizable. Everything was thrown everywhere. The main thought going through Sirius's head was that Melanie could still be in the house, possibly dead.

Everyone outside was watching Melanie's front door, waiting for Sirius to reappear. Minutes passed and no movement came, and Lily began to grow restless.

"I'm going after him."

"No Lily," James said, grabbing onto her wrist. "This is something he has to do by himself."

Lily stopped moving and her arms fell lifelessly to her sides. She now joined in with everyone else in watching.

Sirius walked out of the house, feeling defeated. Neither Melanie, nor her body was anywhere in the house. He couldn't bring himself to think of the possibility that she had been captured. Dumbledore saw him and made his way over.

"The wasn't there Professor, she wasn't anywhere."

"Then we must assume that Voldemort has taken her capt…"

"No! She's here somewhere! I know it, she's got to be!"

Sirius turned around and started running towards the back of the house

"Mel! Melanie, where are you?" Sirius shouted as loudly as possible, as Lily ran over to him.

"Mel! It's us! Please come out!" Lily yelled along with Sirius's.

Melanie heard Sirius's shouts first, followed quickly by Lily's. She began making her way to the sound of their voices. Once they came into view she broke into a run and jumped right into Sirius's arms, and broke into tears.

"They came looking for me. They wanted to take me back to Voldemort – said he wanted to question me."

"Who?" Sirius and Lily asked simultaneously.

"They said names – Avery, Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, Bella. There was one other, he was commanding them.

Melanie couldn't continue and sobbed freely into Sirius's shoulder. James and Remus began sending everybody home while Sirius took Melanie across the street and into his house. Lily, James, Remus and Dumbledore followed minutes later.

Melanie was sent up into Sirius's room to get some sleep, but she refused to go unless Sirius went with her. She lay down in his bed and Sirius took a seat in a chair across the room. he remained awake the whole night, watching Melanie and refusing to let sleep overwhelm him. Little did he know that no one in the house slept that night.


	7. A Change of Atmosphere

Chapter 7 – A Change of Atmosphere

The night passed restlessly. The morning light twinkled through the window and Sirius awoke from his state of half-consciousness.

"Morning," Melanie croaked tiredly from her perch on the bed.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"It was already light, I was okay."

Sirius rose from the chair, sat on the bed and clasped Melanie's hand in his own. He looked at her face and saw that it was pale from lack of sleep and there were dark circles under her eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Sirius asked.

"Awful."

"Do you want some coffee or anything?"

"Sure, that'd be great; I'll come down with you."

"No it's okay; you stay up here and rest."

"Sirius, I'm not going to let you wait on me hand and foot all day."

"Mel – but…"

"No buts, so don't even try it."

Melanie rose up off the bed and started walking down the stairs, leaving Sirius no choice but to follow. Lily, James and Remus were all already sitting at the kitchen table. All of them had bags under their eyes and Lily's eyes were puffy and bloodshot as if she had been crying. As soon as Sirius and Melanie walked into the kitchen Lily jumped out of her seat and wrapped Melanie in a huge hug. She was followed by James and Remus, and then all five of them sat down at the table.

"Mel, we've got to let you know now, Dumbledore will be here in half an hour. We're going to have to take some serious security measures after last night," Remus said.

Melanie nodded. "Do you know what's going to happen?"

"Not a clue, that's all Dumbledore told us last night. Makes sense though. You and Sirius were already upstairs by then, and it's your safety we're talking about. You have every right to have a say in what's being done," James said.

The next half hour passed in silence. The only movement that occurred was someone getting up to refill their mug with coffee. Finally, there was a knock at the front door and Dumbledore entered.

"I don't think I have to tell you all the seriousness of last night's events. It is only by lucky chance and quick escape skills that Ms. Walker is sitting here with us," Dumbledore started. "That being said, you _are_ sitting here with us Melanie, and we would very much like to keep it that way. Obviously, your own house is no longer safe for you or Ms. Evans to inhabit. My suggestion and I feel the safest answer for both of you is to stay here, in this house that you can only say the address of.

"But sir…Albus," Melanie said, "The house, it's far too small for us to live here, not five people."

"That can be fixed my dear," Dumbledore replied. He flicked his wand towards the kitchen window and before their eyes the house started building onto itself. In a matter of minutes a whole other section had been added to the house. "I do believe you will find an extra three bedrooms, and well as a lavatory and a sitting room in there, "Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. "Now before I bid you farewell, any objections, questions?"

"Sir, how did the Death eaters know where Melanie lived, or who she was?" Lily asked quietly.

"This I cannot answer at this precise moment Lily. I have many theories about that, each one more unlikely and horrible than the next. However, rest assured I will find out."

"Albus, what would have happened… if they had found me?" Melanie asked.

Dumbledore hesitated before answering. He looked towards Sirius, who nodded. Dumbledore then looked Melanie directly in the eye and spoke.

"My assumption is that you would have been taken directly to Lord Voldemort. Once you were in his presence you would have been tortured, tortured until you gave Voldemort all the information you knew, including the location of the headquarters. Had you not given any information you would have been tortured to death or insanity. Had you given him information, you would have been killed when he no longer had a use for you."

Melanie sat back in her chair, and Sirius reached for her hand. Dumbledore looked kindly at Melanie.

"That, however, did not happen. Simply put it to the back of your mind and try not to let it worry you. Good day to you all. I shall see you all shortly for our next meeting."

"With that Dumbledore walked into the front hall and vanished with a loud crack.

Later in the day, James, Lily and Remus all left to pay a visit to James's parents. Both Melanie and Sirius declined the offer to go with them. They all agreed that they would go across the street when lily, James and Remus returned the following day to collect Melanie and Lily's things from the house.

Melanie and Sirius sat on the couch most of the day in silence, both from tiredness and fear. They were both drifting off to sleep when Sirius turned to her, a very serious expression on his face.

"I want you to tell me honestly Melanie, are you okay with moving in here?"

"Dumbledore thinks…"

"This isn't about what Dumbledore thinks, this is about you. I want you to tell me if you, yourself, are okay with this, because if you feel awkward or uncomfortable with it, I don't want to force you into it."

Melanie looked at Sirius intently, and then kissed him lightly on the lips.

"I can't think of anywhere else I could possibly want to be."

Sirius pulled Melanie close and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"I thought I lost you last night. As soon as I saw the Mark above your house I thought you were gone."

Melanie pulled back from Sirius slightly and slowly slid so she was lying down on the couch, pulling him with her. She began kissing him, first lightly, then more intensely. For just a moment she broke away and whispered into Sirius's ear.

"I'm not going anywhere."


	8. A Learning Experience, and Then Some

Chapter 8 – A Learning Experience, and Then Some

After the Death Eater incident in the fall, life had toned down considerably. Lily, James, Remus and Sirius worked tirelessly for the Order, but Voldemort's attacks had slowed significantly. Rather than being good, this left many within the Order very worried, particularly Sirius, Remus and James.

"He's planning Sirius said one night after a meeting of the Order. He, James, Remus and Peter were all seated around the kitchen table.

"He could just be backing off. Maybe You-Know-Who's getting worried about us fighting back."

"Don't be stupid Peter. He knows he has more power that we do right now. He has more wizard power than we do simply because half his followers have been threatened or Imperisized into following him. That doesn't include his creature power: Giants, Dementors, Inferi, Werewolves…well not necessarily all werewolves, sorry Moony.

"No harm done Prongs. You have to look at this logically Peter, why spend these past 6 years continually building power, starting abroad and now finally coming to Britain, to suddenly just stop? No, Voldemort is definitely planning something, and rest assured it's going to be big.

While the atmosphere over the wizarding world remained tense, life in Sirius's cottage was quite cheerful with the Christmas holidays fast approaching. Both Melanie and Lily had spent hours trying to make the house look as festive as possible, with Lily even conjuring tiny, fairy-like creatures in the tree. Melanie had only her Christmas shopping left to do, and Lily had promised her that she would take her to Diagon Alley the following week to do it. For Melanie this would be her first exposure to the wizarding community, and she was so excited that she couldn't stop asking questions.

"How will we get there? Well you know you lot will get there, but what about me, I'm not magic," Melanie asked. They were heading to Diagon Alley the next day.

"You don't have to be magic to get into Diagon Alley, as long as you're with a witch or wizard," Remus replied.

"Well what types of shops are there?"

"All kinds: wand makers, seamstresses, magical creature shops, joke shops, everything," James said.

"So you should have no problem what-so-ever finding me a Christmas present," Sirius said with a smirk.

"Who says I'm getting you a Christmas present?"

"Mel, now there's something we have to talk to you about before tomorrow…" Lily started

"Because it could very well influence our shopping choices for you," Sirius finished.

"What is it?

"We've discussed it with Dumbledore, and while you'll never be able to cast even the simplest spell in your life, there is something you can do," lily said.

"What are you talking about?"

Every single person at the table was starting at Melanie with a slightly amused facial expression. Finally James spoke.

"Potion-making."

"Potion-what?"

"Potion-making," James repeated. "Technically you don't have to be magic to make a potion, however many of the ingredients come from magical creatures and plants, giving the potion itself its magical properties."

"So we thought that maybe, if you wanted to, you could try your hand at brewing some simple potions," Remus finished.

Melanie was silent for a moment. "And I could get everything I need to try this in Diagon Alley?"

Sirius and James broke into a delighted laugh while Lily hugged Melanie and Remus smiled and replied, "Everything and more."

Everyone was excited for the outing to Diagon Alley the following day. They all entered Diagon Alley through the Leaky Cauldron so Melanie could get 'the full experience' of entering Diagon Alley. Lily and Melanie immediately separated from the boys and went o Gringotts so Melanie could exchange her money and lily could remove some from her vault. Melanie was amazed and intrigued by the Gringotts goblins and as soon as she and lily went outside, Melanie felt like a kid in a slightly odd and different candy store. They went into the bookstore, Flourish and Blotts where Melanie picked out a book for Remus on different magical creatures. They then headed over to Quality Quidditch Supplies where Melanie got a Broomstick Servicing Kit for James, and she and Lily both got an England National Quidditch Team jersey for James and Sirius. Sitting safely at home was also a rather interesting pocket watch she had gotten James to order her for Sirius from one of Lily's catalogues, and a photo album for Lily containing pictures she had gotten from James, Remus and Sirius as well as pictures she herself had taken over the past six months.

"Hey Melanie, what do you say we go meet the boys for ice cream before we all go and get your potions gear?"

Melanie nodded and she and went off to find the boys. All five of them sat inside Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour when a sudden change in weather occurred, making Sirius, James, Lily and Remus all reach for their wands. The sky outside had previously been bright with the sunshine making the snow and icicles glitter. Suddenly the sky became a dark steel grey and a thick fog began to form.

"Lily, stay with Melanie. Take her over to Gringotts and don't leave there until we come and get you," James said. Spotting Lily's searching glare he added, "We need someone to stay with her. We can't let anything happen to her."

Lily nodded and Melanie grabbed all their parcels. Together they ran across the crowded street to the great white building that was Gringotts.

Sirius, Remus and James and watched as dozens of cloaked, masked wizards apparated onto the street. People everywhere were screaming and running, seeking refuge wherever they could. Sirius could see other Order members apparating around them and beginning to advance on the Death Eaters. Finally, a Death eater with long, white-blonde hair raised his arm.

"Let the fun begin," Sirius thought to himself.

Bright bursts of light lit up Diagon Alley as hexes were fired back and forth between the Death Eaters and the members of the Order of the Phoenix. Sirius had just stunned a Death eater when he felt his feet fly from under him. He rose, turned around and found him face to face with another Death Eater. The Death Eater's wand was extended, and Sirius noticed his hand was slightly shaking.

"Well look at what we have here, Sirius Black," the Death Eater said in a slightly nervous voice.

"Ah, Regulus, little brother...you stupid idiot."

With that, Sirius shot a stunning spell at his brother and turned to go help James. Suddenly a bright light engulfed the Alley and Sirius turned to see Dumbledore standing with his wand raised the light coming from his wand tip. One by one the Death Eaters disapparated, but the damage had been done. Many Order members lay injured and much of Diagon Alley was in ruins. Sirius saw Dumbledore striding over to him.

"Is she here?"

"Yeah, she's with..."

"Get her out of here and back to Headquarters now. Side-along apparition. We will be there for an emergency meeting within the hour."

Sirius nodded and grabbed Remus and James. The three of them ran to Gringotts and found Lily and Melanie safely inside. Lily, James and Remus all vanished with a pop. Sirius instructed Melanie to hold on tightly to his arm. She did so and with a loud pop they both vanished and appeared almost instantly back at the house. Melanie held tightly onto Sirius's hand and they both walked into the living room where Lily, Remus and James all were. As they entered James looked at them solemnly.

"Well...welcome to the Order of the Phoenix."


End file.
